The Calgary Stampede’s roving reporter team creates 50 to 60 stories from the 10-day festival, pumping out videos on everything from midway food and rides to the rodeo and entertainment every year.
The three-person team includes on-camera reporter Cayla Spiess and videographers Andrew Stachiw and Mitch Nybo, who all work for the Calgary Flames during the rest of the year.
Spiess, who’s been doing the job for four years, sat down with Postmedia’s Emma McIntosh to talk about what it’s like to be the Stampede roving reporter.
Q: How do stories by the roving reporter come about?
A: Going into each year, I get a quick rundown of some of the stories that the Stampede wants to highlight.
Then, I . . . do all the pre-planning, from when (we) need to be at Stampede Park to our first story, (and everything else required) every step of the way to when we start editing.
I’m also making calls a few weeks before, talking to point people and just saying, “We want to do this story; what’s the best day?” So, I really work with the whole staff of the Calgary Stampede.
Q: What’s a day during Stampede like for you?
A: Sometimes we can show up at noon and we’ll be out of there by 6 p.m. Some days, we show up at 7 a.m. and we end at 8 p.m.
We hit the grounds and shoot a few stories, then go back to the Saddledome to edit, then shoot some more and edit, (and) then we have the queue ready for the next day.
In total, for the roving reporter right now, we have 51 stories planned for the 10 days. That’s essentially five stories per day.
Q: What’s one of the craziest things you’ve experienced at Stampede Park?
A: My first year as the roving reporter was 2013, during the flood.
Around the flood time, the NHL draft happened. By fluke, one of our guys was too tired by the time he got back from the draft to go back to the Saddledome to drop off the laptop and a camera. We lost our entire office at the Saddledome. We were completely flooded out, but for that equipment (that hadn’t been dropped off.)
I’m pretty sure that was the only computer we could have used for the roving reporter. We lost all our editing systems, and we still had to rent other equipment to be a fully-functioning media team, but it was pretty crazy
Q: What’s one of your favourite memories from your four years as the roving reporter?
A: One year, we went up into the Eye in the Sky with the guys who call the chuckwagon races.
We got to follow them around a little before hand, but also while they called the chucks. It was so cool to see it live, and they were amazing.
Q:What are you looking forward to most this year?
A: Being a Calgarian, you think you’ve seen it all. But even for someone who’s down there 1o hours a day for the full Stampede, there are still surprises.
Reports from the roving reporter can be seen at calgaryherald.com, at calgarystampede.com and on various big screens on the Stampede grounds through the 10-day event.
